Penn State Recruiting Class Flops as Top Athletes Decommit

rcade · February 1, 2012

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/penn_state/138454604.html

As colleges secure players on National Signing Day, Penn State's recruiting class for 2012 fell apart after the child sex abuse scandal and the slow hire of new coach Bill O'Brien to succeed the late Joe Paterno. Seven players cancelled their commitments to the school after the scandal, including four ranked in the top 250 by Rivals. All four signed with Ohio State. The best recruit going to Penn State is probably Eugene Lewis of Plymouth, Pa., a quarterback projected to play wide receiver. "I'm excited for him to be my coach," Lewis said of O'Brien. "He's definitely a guy I want to play for." Penn State didn't get a single big-impact recruit from the state of Pennsylvania, reports PennLive: "[A]ll of the big names PSU once had its mitts on are gone."

Green Mean · February 1, 2012

That was certainly expected. They'll have to settle for lower rated guys but I think the coaching staff will be really really crucial into making the program at least stay the level it was before the scandal. This team will have to be coached the heck up like Boise is doing.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 1, 2012

We really missed the boat here. We should have poached some of them, too.

rcade · February 1, 2012

Yep. I would've been shocked if a single top recruit stuck with Penn State.

The PSU message boards really wanted Urban Meyer to succeed Paterno. It has to be exceptionally galling that he poached their four top-250 players for Ohio State.

Mean Green 93-98 · February 1, 2012

So many factors in this, it's no surprise at all. If Tom Bradley would have been named the permanent head coach in late November-early December, they would have held on to some of their top recruits. But you have a school tainted by scandal, a prolonged and indecisive coaching search, a complete overhaul of the coaching staff (only 2 returning, I think), and a new head coach with no head coaching experience . . . this is pretty much to be expected.

golfingomez · February 1, 2012

Yep. I would've been shocked if a single top recruit stuck with Penn State.

The PSU message boards really wanted Urban Meyer to succeed Paterno. It has to be exceptionally galling that he poached their four top-250 players for Ohio State.

yeah, but there was no way that Meyer would have gone to PSU...

cl_1_2008 · February 1, 2012

yeah, but there was no way that Meyer would have gone to PSU...

Exactly.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 1, 2012

Here's what Penn State should have done, if they hadn't been so busy trying to cover their backsides and Joe Paterno's as well:

When the story broke, and the scumbags could no longer cover it up, they should have immediately:

-Fired Joe (check, they did this)

-Fired McQueary

-Fired everyone who had knowledge of the event

-Announce that no current assistants would be kept when a new coach was hired.

If they had cleaned house from the moment their shameless cover was blown, they night have had more credit with recruits.

Either way, anything bad that happens to Penn State is of their doing.

rcade · February 1, 2012

So many factors in this, it's no surprise at all. If Tom Bradley would have been named the permanent head coach in late November-early December, they would have held on to some of their top recruits.

If Penn State had hired Bradley, it risked the possibility of finding out later that he knew something about Sandusky. The only way to completely turn the page on the sex scandal was to get an outsider and dump the coaching staff. The only two coaches who weren't let go were the ones most engaged in recruiting. I'll be surprised if they're still around in a year.

rcade · February 1, 2012

-Fired McQueary

McQueary's a whistleblower, which makes it more legally difficult to fire him. But he told players he was out as a coach there.

rcade · February 1, 2012

yeah, but there was no way that Meyer would have gone to PSU...

True, but that's the level of coach a lot of Penn Staters thought they could get to succeed Paterno. They've been yelling at their trustees at public meetings over the O'Brien hire.

Mean Green 93-98 · February 1, 2012

yeah, but there was no way that Meyer would have gone to PSU...

He had interviewed at PSU at least twice and was definitely interested in the position . . . Of course, that was before the Sandusky scandal broke out.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · February 1, 2012

McQueary's a whistleblower, which makes it more legally difficult to fire him. But he told players he was out as a coach there.

A whistleblower goes above his or her bosses head. Did he go to the university president? The board?

I'm still so confused about the inaction of McQueary it makes me sick. As little as I understand Joe Paterno's inaction in following up, I understand McQueary's even less. He saw the event!

Then, year after year after year, he's in the same building as the guy! Whistleblower. Some whistleblower.

UNT90 · February 1, 2012

A whistleblower goes above his or her bosses head. Did he go to the university president? The board?

I'm still so confused about the inaction of McQueary it makes me sick. As little as I understand Joe Paterno's inaction in following up, I understand McQueary's even less. He saw the event!

Then, year after year after year, he's in the same building as the guy! Whistleblower. Some whistleblower.

McQuerey used it to get an assistant job at PSU. Grand Jury testimony makes that pretty clear (JoePa: "I thought MCQuerey was coming to talk to me about an assistants job. I told him 'if your here about an assistant job, I got nothing for you'" paraphrased. Amazingly, the next year, McQuerey is a full time assistant.

PSU is getting what they deserve. I'm sure many were sick when they saw how their campus put football in front of the safety of children (the demonstrations supporting JoePa, the riots when he was fired, the burial fit for a King).

They will be bottom of the Big 10 for a long time to come. BIH, PSU football program!!!

Edited February 1, 2012 by UNT90

VideoEagle · February 1, 2012

Penn State is even losing out on top students. There was a WSJ article about it yesterday. The number of students from out of state is down significantly and from what the article states, PSU counts on the added out of state tuition to make the University's budget work. No one in Pennsylvania seems to care what the University did, but top students from around the country don't want to have to explain going to PSU to future employers!

Here's the article.